The larger political question is whether this deal helps or hurts the Democratic attempt to expand government by 5% of GDP with a partisan $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. Mr. Portman says the deal will make it harder, and his spokesman points to the news that one of the Democratic Senate negotiators, Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, said this week she opposes a $3.5 trillion bill.

But she didn’t say she’d oppose $2.5 trillion, and the real issue is less the amount than whether the bill includes the start of new middle-class federal entitlements for child care, family leave, nationwide pre-K and so much more. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already said she won’t bring the infrastructure deal to the House floor until the partisan reconciliation bill passes. She’s holding the bipartisan bill hostage to coerce swing-district Democrats.

A real bipartisan deal would have traded some of Mr. Biden’s spending agenda for no tax increases and no new entitlements. Instead, Democrats will get GOP signatures on much of their spending and pass most of the rest of their agenda anyway. Sorry if we don’t cheer.

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